Concept
Wheat beer is a top-fermented beer which is brewed with a large proportion of wheat relative to the amount of malted barley. The two main varieties are German Weizenbier and Belgian witbier; other types include Lambic (made with wild yeast), Berliner Weisse (a cloudy, sour beer), and Gose (a sour, salty beer). Weißbier (German – "white beer") uses at least 52% wheat to barley malt to make a light-coloured top-fermenting beer. Witbier (Dutch – "white beer") uses flavorings such as coriander and orange peel. Belgian white beers are often made with raw unmalted wheat. German Weißbier and Belgian witbier are termed "white beers" because "wheat" has the same etymological root as "white" in most West Germanic languages (including English). Other wheat beer styles, such as Berliner Weiße, Gose, and Lambic, are made with a significant proportion of wheat. Weizenbier or Hefeweizen, in the southern parts of Bavaria usually called Weißbier (literally "white beer", referring to the pale air-dried malt, as opposed to "brown beer" made from dark malt dried over a hot kiln), is a beer, traditionally from Bavaria, in which a significant proportion of malted barley is replaced with malted wheat. By law, Weißbiers brewed in Germany must use a "top-fermenting" yeast. Specialized strains of yeast are used which produce overtones of banana and clove as by-products of fermentation. Historically, Bavarian Weißbier was either brewed with a large share of wheat malt (which was a ducal privilege in Bavaria) or from air-dried pale barley malt only (which was a common drink amongst poor people). It is well known throughout Germany, though better known as Weizen ("Wheat") outside Bavaria. The terms Hefeweizen ("yeast wheat") or Hefeweißbier refer to wheat beer in its traditional, unfiltered form. The term Kristallweizen (crystal wheat), or Kristallweißbier (crystal white beer), refers to a wheat beer that is filtered to remove the yeast and wheat proteins which contribute to its cloudy appearance.
